Body muscle supporter



Nov. 15, 1955 M. L. STACK BODY MUSCLE SUPPORTER Filed March 29, 1954Fig.

Margaret L. Sfack INVENTOR.

(young 12% BODY MUSCLE SUPPORTER Margaret L. Stack, Middletown, N. Y.Application March 29, 1954, Serial No. 419,319

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-42) This invention relates to a body muscle supporter inthe form of a garment for positioning around a portion of the bodythereby supporting the body. This device is especially useful in'thesupport of the chest for assisting in the alleviation of pain in case offractured ribs, pleurisy or other chest distresses whether they resultfrom injuries or some disease.

An object of this invention is to provide a body muscle supporter ofelastic material stretching both longitudinally and transversely forsurrounding a portion of a body and Iassisting in the alleviation ofpain to that part of the A further object of this invention is toprovide an elastic body muscle supporter which is easily positionedaround a portion of the body and which may be easily removed as desiredby the wearer.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a body musclesupporter which is simple in construction, easy to use, relativelyinexpensive to manufacture and well adapted for its intended purposes.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is aperspective view showing a view of the body musclesupporter of the present invention positioned around the body of aperson;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the body supporter with thedetails of the zipper and the closure flap for protecting the body of awearer; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1 showing a modifiedform of the body muscle support utilized by a female wearer.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, it will be seen that thenumeral 10 generally designates the body muscle supporter of the presentinvention for positioning around a portion of the body of the wearer 12.As specifically illustrated, the supporter 10 is positioned around thechest of the wearer. The supporter 10 includes a generally elongatedrectangular member 14 constructed of elastic material which stretches ina longitudinal and transverse direction. The rectangular member 14 isprovided with free end 16 having a slidable zipper closure generallyindicated by the numeral 18. A flap 20 is provided adjacent one of thefree ends 16 and bridges the connection between the free ends 16 andprotects the body 12 of the wearer from injury due to. the zipper 18.

In operation, the member 14 is positioned around the body 12 and thezipper closure fastener 18 is manipulated in an obvious manner therebyconnecting the free ends 16 of the member 14 to each other for forming asupporter for the chest cavity. The particular width and length of thesupporter 10 may be determined by the size of the United States Patentwearer and may be provided in various standard sizes.

Due to the resilient construction of the member 14, the muscles of thechest cavity will be supported and the pain of fractured ribs ordiseases such as pleurisy will be greatly alleviated.

Referring now specifically to Figure 3, it will be seen that the numeral22 generally indicates the body of a female wearer and the elasticmember 24 is provided with free end portions 26 and a closure zipper 28similar to device in Figure 2. The body portion 24 of the supporter 10is provided adjacent its free ends 26 and at its upper edge with a cupmember 30 which is similar to a brassiere cup utilized by women. It willbe seen that a cup 30 is positioned adjacent each free end 26 of themember 24 and the zipper 28 extends to the vertical upper edge of thecups 30 thereby providing a convenient body support 1!? for a femalewearer 22. The operation of the body supporter for the female wearer 22is exactly the same as for the male wearer 12.

It will be understood that the supporter 10 may be constructed of anysuitable elastic material of a size dependent upon the size of thewearer and the free ends may be connected by any suitable slidable typezipper or hook fasteners or the like. In the case of female wearers, thebrassiere attachment formed by the cups 30 may be constructed of anysuitable material such as cotton or the like and this prevents thecompression of the breasts while wearing the device. Further, the devicemay be used for support of any part of the body such as the abdomen orthe like and may be used to alleviate pain from injuries, variousdiseases and congestions of the body cavity as well as post-operativesupport. If desirable, elastic shoulder straps may be attached to thebrassiere portion and suitable garter straps may be utilized in thedevice of Figure 3 for the convenience of the female wearer.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction shown and described, andaccordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A muscle supporter for the torso of a wearer comprising an elongatedrectangular shaped member of highly elastic material for stretchinglongitudinally and transversely, said member having parallel free endsand parallel upper and lower edges for encircling a portion of the torsoof the wearer thereby forming a vertical and horizontal elasticizedmuscle supporter, a pair of concave members attached to the upper edgeof said member adjacent the ends thereof and adapted to receive thebreasts of a female wearer, said concave members having free ends inalignment with the free ends of said member, continuous slidable typefastening means detachably connecting the free ends of said rectangularmember and said concave members, and a shield flap attached to saidrectangular member and one concave member adjacent a free end thereoffor underlying the fastening means when the free ends are connected.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

